Automatic tension control



Aug. 12; 1941. P. H. SLAUGHTER 2,252,419

AUTOMATIC, TENSION CONTROL.

Filed Aug. 1, 1938 v 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 7 3mm. PHILIP H-SLAUGHTEfR Aug.12, 1941. P. 'H. SLAUGHTER AUTOMATIC TENSION common Filed Aug. 1, 1958 4Sheets-Sheet 2 v5 i -J Q H 6 u M 5 H m M H O! Aug. 12,1941. P. H.SLAUGHTER AUTOMATIC TENSION common 4 Sheets-sheaf 3 Filed Aug. l 1938 IPHILIP H. SLAUGHTER Aug. 12, 1941. I P. H. SLAUGHTER 2,252,419

AUTOMATIC TENSION comm Fil ed Aug. 1Q 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 H'HLIPHSLAUaHTER a constant ,clutch mechanism has been provided whereby stares4 PATENT automatic 'rrnsrou CONTROL Philip H.

fort Charlotte, N. '60.

Slaughter, Davidson, N. y-nine per cent to John F.

0., assignor oi Degener, III,

' [Application August 1, 1938, Serial No. 222,542

(Cl. 2t2-75) 3 Claims.

This invention relates to an apparatus and method for controllingautomatically the tension of a substance being wound or unwound on orfrom respectively a core, beam, spool, reel or the like. This tensioncontrol is applicable to any mechanism where it is desirable to wind or,unwind a sheet, or substantially a sheet of material on or from a core,beam, spool, reel or the like, as warp yarn, cloth and the like, invarious processes, as beaming, slashing, dyeing, bleaching, printing,finishing etc., as paper in a papermaking machine, printing presslet-oi? roll, etc.,

to Cellophane, screen wire, or the like in various manufacturingprocesses.

It is a well known fact that when material A such as a warp is beingwound upon a beam by virtue of a clutch mechanism engaging the beamhead, that it is very desirable for the material to be wound thereon ata constant speed and with tension. Heretofore, a suitable the rateofwinding would remain substantially the same, but when the tensionexceeded a predetermined amount on the material being wound a slippagewould occur in the clutch mechanism to allow for the difference in therate of travel of the yarn being wound and the driving mecha nism forthe beam. When such an apparatus is used for winding sheet material avery much smaller force will be necessary to be applied to is in directtheclutch while the material is winding on a 1 small diameter than willbe necessary while the same material is being wound on a'greaterdiameter. The ideal condition in such cases is to provide a meanswhereby the resistance to the turning movement of the beam will alwaysremain substantially the same, or slightly greater than the tension inthe sheet ofa material which is being wound.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide meansassociated with a beam, spool, reel or the like for maintaining auniform tension upon the material being wound thereon,

beam and the restraining means -minimum when the beam is empty. ple,when the package of material is terial being unwound. mechanism,

By providing such a the amount of friction between the must be variedfrom a maximum when the beam is full, to a For exambeing unwound from asmall diameter, then much less pressure is necessary to be applied tothe friction restraining means to maintain uniform tension in thematerial than is necessary when the material is being unwound from apackage of a larger diameter.

It is another object of this invention to provide means forautomatically varying a force on any type take-up mechanism or let-offmechanism where applied to a particular point on the mechanism in directproportion to the radius of the material on the beam, it will result ina uniform tension, or substantially uniform tension, on the materialcoming onto a winding beam or the material being drawn from an unwindingbeam.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an automatic controldevice, comprising a follower roll for engaging the periphery of thematerial being wound with a friction restraintothe friction restrainingmeans in direct proportion-to the radius of the wound material.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objectswill appearas the description proceeds when taken in connection duringthe entire winding of the package. More I specifically, the inventioncomprises a device for varying the resultant propulsive force on thewinding beam in direct proportion to the radius of the material on thebeam.

It is another object of this invention to providemeans for maintaining auniform tension upon thematerial being unwound from a beam whichcomprises'the combination of a beam andmeans for frictionallyrestraining the beam to prevent rotation, and further means forapplying'a-pull to the friction restraining means that Figure 2 is anelevation with the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is anelevation of a suitable let-on beam for textile machinery embodying myinvention;

looking at the righthand side of Figure l;

Figure 3 is-an isometric view of the let-off mechanism as applied to theapparatus shown in Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 4 is an end elevation of a let-off beam showing a slightlymodified form of my invention applied thereto;

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 but showing stillanother slightlymodified form of the invention; 7

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 6-6 in Figure5;

Figure 7 is an elevation, with certain portions proportion to thetension on the ma- I thereof shown in modified form of the invention asapplied to the take-up beam on a slasher.

. tions thereof, the ends ends of the warp beam |2 are normally confinedor web after it has been section, showing still another Referring morespecifically to the drawings, the numerals l and II denote suitablesupports which have rotatably mounted in the upper porof,a warp beam |2.The

upon the upper end of the supports Hi and by means of caps I4 and I5,respectively. The beam |2 has a drum l5 integral with one end thereofwhich is engaged by brake band I1, said band'having one end secured asat l8 to the support whereas its other end is secured to link H. Thelink l9 has a roller 29 therein which roller supports one end of rack2|, and the lower end of the link I9 is mounted for vertical slidablemovement in bracket 22 which is an integral part of the support The rack2| has a weight 25 secured thereto as at 25 and a plurality of removableweights 2511 are adapted to be placed on top of the weight 25 in orderto vary the amount of downward pressure exerted by the rack 2| upon theroller 25, link I9 and the left-hand end of brake band H in Figure 2. Aslot 2|a is provided in rack 2| whereby the initial position' of theweights and 2511 may be adjusted.

The rack 2| meshes with a pinion 25 said pinion being fixedly mounted onshaft 29 which, in turn, is rotatably supported by support H (see Figure3).

The rack 2| is held in engagement with pinion 28 by means of a roller 35which is rotatably mounted upon a shaft 3| directly beneath pinion 28.This shaft is likewise rotatably mounted in the end support II. It isthus seen that the weights 25 and 25a. are carried by the rollers 20 and35 and of course the nearer the weight 25 is disposed to the roller 25the greater proportion of this weight will be carried by it. Also thenearer the weight 25 is disposed to the link l9, that is applied to thedrum l5, and, therefore, the greater will be the resistance offered tothe turning of the beam |2.

The beam I2 is adapted to have a warp or web or other suitable material35 wound or unwound therefrom. The periphery of this warp wound upon thebeam, is contacted by a roller 35 which, in turn, is rotatably mountedin one leg of U-shaped member 31. The other leg of member 31 has a rack35 integral therewith which meshes with a pinion 39, said pinion alsobeing fixedly secured on shaft 29 previously described.

The lower end of the rack 39 has an enlarge portion 45 integraltherewith to supply the necessary weight to hold the roller 35 intocontact with the periphery of the material on the beam.

The weight 40 also supplies the necessary force to move the rack 2| andthe weight 25 horizontally, the amount of such movement being determinedby the diameter of the material 35, which is wound upon the beam l2.Lugs 4| and 42, extend from the side of support II to serve as guidesfor rack 35.

By referring to Figure 2, it is seen that when the roller 35 is disposedon a very large diameter, that is, when beginning to wind warp 35 fromthe beam, the point 25 and weight 25 will be disposed farther to theleft, than is now shown,

whereas when the diameter has decreased and the beam is ready to bedofled, the weight 25 and its associated rack will be disposed considandroller 20, the greater will be the friction .erably farther to theright, that is closer to the roller 39. In any event the distance fromthe point 25 to a vertical center line passing through the shafts 29 and3| will always be equal to the radius of the material on the beam. Inother words, when the weight 25 is nearest the roller 25 the amount offriction between the brake band I! and the drum |5 will be greatest andwill decrease as the diameter becomes smaller to insure that the tensionon the warp 25 will remain substantially constant as the diameter of theroll is being decreased.

Figure 4 shows a slightly modified form of the invention in which oneweight is provided for supplying the necessary pressure for frictionalryrestraining rotation of the beam and also for holding the follower rollin contact with the periphery of the material which is being unwoundtherefrom. In this form, an end support 45 is shown which has a beam 45mounted thereon, it being understood that there is a similar support onthe other end of the beam. The ends of the beam are removably mounted inthe upper end of these supports by means of caps 41. The beam 45likewise has a drum 45 integral therewith upon which a brake band 49 ismounted. As the warp 35 is drawn from the beam 45, the brake band 49supplies the necessary friction to the drum to insure that the tensionin the warp will be uniform.

One end of the brake band 49 is pivoted as at to bracket 5| whereas theother end is secured to a link 53. Link 53 has a roller 54 therein forsupporting one end of a rack 55 and the lower end of the link 53 ismounted for vertical sliding movement in upstanding bracket Theleft-hand end of rack 55 is supported by a meshing pinion 51, saidpinion being fixedly secured upon stud shaft 55. This pinion also mesheswith another rack 59 which has an upstanding arc shaped arm 59 integraltherewith. The upper end of the arm 55 has a follower roll 5| rotatablymounted therein which contacts the periphery of material on the'roll. Inorder to hold the roller 5| in contact with the periphery of thematerial at all times, a intermediate portion of arm 55 and this cablepasses over a roller 55. The cable is also mounted upon another roller55 which roller is mounted upon plate 55a. The plate is adiustablysecured to rack 55 by means of suitable bolts 51, which bolts penetrateslots 53 in this rack. Disposed on the lower end of the cable 54 areweights 59 and 59a.

In this form, it is seen that the weights serve a double purpose, thatis to hold the roller 5| in contact with the periphery of the materialon the beam and also to apply the necessary downward pull upon the link53 to retard the rotation of the beam. As the material 35 is beingunwound from the beam, the radius of the package decreases and,consequently, the roller 5| moves toward the center of the beam. Thismovement will cause the rack 59 to move to the right and the rack 55 tomove to theleft (see Figure 4), thereby causing the amount of weightwhich is applied to the roller 54 and the right-hand end of brake band49 to gradually decrease along with the decrease in radius of thematerial on the beam. This type of mechanism will provide a uniformtension, the amount of which is governed by the radius of the materialon the roll.

Figure shows another modified form 01' the invention whichis verysimilar to Figure 4, and like reference characters will apply to likeparts.

y In this form, an end frame a is provided which is slightly wider thanthe frame 45 in the preceding form but constructed along similar lines.A brake band tta is provided for'engaging the drum til, said band havingone and secured as at iii on frame its and its other end secured to theupper end of link 53. This link and its supporting means are similar tothat of the preceding form. Likewise a pinion i5! is provided which isadapted to support one end of a horizontally disposed rack it. The otherend of the rack lift is supported by the roller M. In order that themore space will be available between the roller Ji land the pinion till,the frame the has been extended and another roller ll has been providedover which the brake band Ma is adapted to be mounted. i

As the material as is unwound from the beam at the follower roll atmoves toward the center oi the beam thereby causing the rack 59a to moveto the right in Figure 5. This motion will cause the rack "it to move tothe left; A weight it is suspended by cord it which cord passes overroller it and. has its other end attached to This weight holdsnthemember dds as at i i. roller in contact with the periphery of the woundmaterial at all times.

j so The main difference between this form and w the form shown inFigure l is the apparatus'gf or" l applying'the weight to the reel: it.The means for supplying this weight in this form of the-inventioncomprises a ii-shaped bracket lid, which bracket is secured to the rackit by means of suitable set screws ti. This rack has a pin iii mountedfor vertical sliding movement therein.

said pin having a pair of nuts ti and 8d threadably secured thereon torconfining a compression spring tit therearound. The upper end of the rod82 has a U-shaped bracket secured thereon,- in which is mounted a rollertil, said roller being adapted to contact or press upwardly against thelower side of trackway M. This trackway is stationary and forms a partof the end irame iha. By manipulatingthe nutst3 and lit, the amount ofpressure exerted upon'the compression spring dd can beincreased ordecreased, and consequently the amount of load applied to the roller lidand pinion 57 through rack it can be varied. Figure 7 shows stillanother modified form of the invention in which the same principle isapplied to a slasher beaming device. This slasher has a delivery roll atwhich is driven at the same surface speed as the drying cylinders (notshown). The numerals W and ti denote end supports for a slasher takeeupbeam ti, said beam being removably supported by the right-hand end ofshaft lid. This shaft is rotatably secured in bearings iii and $5 on endsupports 9d and Qi, respectively. The shaft til has keyed thereto a disktil which disk has a friction lining 97 secured to one face thereof bymeans of suitable rivets lid. The disk tit: has a hub the integraltherewith which hub slidably supports another disk ti for engaging thefriction lining ti. Also slidably mounted upon the hub the is a collarmt having a fulcrum point idi and this point is engaged by theintermediate portion of vertically disposed lever idi the lower end ofwhich is pivoted as at I03 to thesupport 9 I.

The hub of disk at has a gear portion I03 cut therein which gear isadapted to mesh with a intermediate portion of the in the appendedclaims.

- rotates at a constant ly increased *A "weight MM is mounted normallyforce roller iii in 12s to lever I25, said lever being driving gear Hi4disposed on shaft. Ma and driven by the slasher.- As the gear I04 turns,rotative movement, .will be imparted to disk 99 which-in turnwill-impart rotary movement to beam 92 through the friction lining 91and the disk 96 which is secured to shaft 93. This, of course, willcause the warp 'or other material I05 to be drawn from delivery roll 89and be wound upon the beam '92. It isevident that a much greater forcemust be exerted by the gear HM to wind the material on the beam afterthe diameterof' the roll has been increased to the clotting point, thanis necessary to exert when the roll is just being started. Since thedriving gear HM speed and since the rate of travel of the yarnsame'throughout the formation or the roll it is necessary for slippagebetween the friction disks 99 and the lining at to take place as thediameter increases. Heretoiore, it has been the practice to apply morefriction between members 9t and ti than was necessary when starting thewarp on the beam because the resistance offered by the warp to theturning of the beam gradualwith the diameter of the material thereon. p

This form of the invention provides a means for constantly anduniforinlyincreasing this frictionas the material ltd builds up upon the beam. Inorder to do this, a roller it? is provided in one leg of invertedLl-shaped member its, said member we having a rack Hi9 integral with thelower portion thereof which meshes with a'pinion lid. on member ltd tocontact with the per'iphery.v of the wound material on the beam. The

member tilt is slidablymounted in brackets H2 and i it. The pinion Hdalso meshes with a horizontally disposed rack H5 and the other end ofthis rack is supported by a roller iii? which roller is disposed in thelower end of vertically slidable rod lid. Weights lid and i ltd aresecured to the intermediate portion of the rack H5 as at iilii. Thisweight may be adjusted in slot iii to vary the amount of pressureinitially exerted upon the roller H1 and pinion lit. j I The upper endof the rod lid is pivoted as at pivoted as at lit to bracket I21 andthis bracket is supported by and support 90. The lever I25 has alaterally projecting pin I30 extending therefrom which is engaged by theupper end ofv the lever int. As the material I05 builds up upon the beamt2 the rack ltd moves upwardly thereby causing the rack M5 to move tothe left and apply a greater percentage of its weight upon the roller'iii and the rod lid. This will cause the pin itil to press harderagainst the upper end of lever Hi2 and thereby cause the disk 99 topress hardor against lining 9i. i

It is thus seen that I have provided an apparatus of this type which iscapable of operating with a let-0d beam or a take-up beam and incombination with various restraining devices.

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferredembodiment of the invention, and although specific terms are em-.-ployed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only, and notfor purposes of limitation, the scope oi the invention being set forth Iclaim:

1. Apparatus for maintaining a constant ten I sion on warp threads asthey are withdrawn must be substantially the from a warp beam mountedfor rotation in a suitable machine, comprising a brake drum on the warpbeam, a brake band engaging said drum and having one end secured to themachine, a lever slidably engaging the free end of said band and havinga rack integral therewith,

a pinion mounted for rotation at a fixed point in the machine andengaging said rack, a'member having a roller in one of its ends forengaging. the warp on the beam at all times and having a rack near itsother end in engagement with said pinion, means for applying pressure tothe lever to hold said lever against said pinion and also'for exertingpressure on the free end of the brake band, means for moving said rollerand the member carrying the same' towards the warp on the beam at alltimes, whereby as the diameter of the warp on the beam decreases thepinion will be rotated to thereby lengthen the distance between thepoint where the lever engages the brake band and the point wherepressure is applied to thelever to thereby lessen the amount of pressureapplied by said band to said brake drum.

2. Apparatus for maintaining a constant tension on warp threads as theyare withdrawn from a warp beam mounted for rotation in a suitablemachine, comprising a brake drum on the warp beam, a brake band engagingsaid drum and having one end secured to the machine, a lever slidablyengaging the free end of said' brake band and having a rack integraltherewith, a pinion mounted for rotation at a fixed point in the machineand engaging said rack, a member having a roller in one of its-end forengaging thewarp on the beam at all times and having a rack near itsother end in engagement with said pinion, means for applying pressure tothe lever to hold said lever against said pinion and for exertingpressure on the free end of the brake band and for moving said rollerand the member carrying the same towards the warp on the beam at alltimes, whereby as the diameter of the warp on the beam decreases thepinion will be rotated to thereby lengthen the distance between thepoint where the lever engages the brake band and the point wherepressure is applied to the lever to thereby lessen the amount ofpressure applied by said band to said brake drum.

3. Apparatus for maintaining constant tension on warp threads as theyare withdrawn from a warp beam mounted for rotation in a suitablemachine, comprising means for restraining the warp beam against rotationunder influence of the pull of the yarn being withdrawn therefrom,

a lever having sliding engagement with the restraining means, a rack onsaid lever, means for engaging the periphery of the warp beam and havinga rack thereon, a driving connection between the two racks, means forapplying force to the lever to in turn apply force to the restrainingmeans, means for supporting the lever for sliding movement, means forapplying force to the means for engaging the periphery of the warp tocause it to be in con-tact with the warp at all times, the last meansfor applying force causing, through the driving connection between thetwo racks, a shifting of the lever to thereby vary the-force applied tothe restraining means in direct proportion to the diameter of the warpon the warp beam.

4. Apparatus for maintaining constant tension of the warp threads asthey are withdrawn from a warp beam mounted for rotation in a suitablemachine comprising restraining means for engaging the warp beam, a leverslidably engaging the restraining means and having a rack integraltherewith, a pinion mounted for rotation at a fixed point in the machineand engaging said rack, a member having a roller in one of its ends forengaging the warp on the beam at all times and having a rack near itsother end and in engagement with said pinion, means for holding saidlever against said rack and also for exerting pressure on therestraining means, and for moving the roller and the member carrying thesame towards the center of the warp beam at all times, whereby as thediameter of the warp on the beam decreases, the pinion will be rotatedto thereby lengthen the distance between the point where the leverengages the restraining means and the point where pressure is ap-'.plied thereto to thereby lesson the amount of pressure applied to therestraining means.

5. Apparatus for maintaining constant tension on warp threads extendingfrom a beam which is mounted for rotation in a suitable machine,comprising friction means associated with the warp beam for regulatingrotation of the warp beam, a lever having operative engagement with thefriction means, a rack-on said lever, means for engaging yarn on thewarp beam and having a rack thereon, a driving connection between thetwo racks, means for. applying force to the lever to in turn apply forceto the friction means, means for supporting the lever for slidingmovement relative to the friction means, means for causing the meansengaging the warp on the beam to press against the warp on the beam atall times and through the driving connection between the two rackscausing a shifting of the lever relative .to the friction means tothereb vary the force applied to the friction means in direct proportionto the diameter of the warp on the warp beam. v

6. Apparatus for maintaining a constant tension on warp threadsextending from a warp beam mounted for rotation in a suitable machine,comprising friction means associated with the warp beam and governingrotation of the warp beam, a lever slidably engaging the friction meansand having a rack' integral therewith, a

pinion mounted for rotation at a fixed point in the machine and engagingsaid rack, the memberhaving a roller on one end for engaging the warp onthe beam at all times and having a rack near its other end forengagement with said pinion, means for holding said lever against saidpinion and also for exerting pressure on the friction means, means-formoving the roller and member carrying the same towards the center of thewarp beam at all times, whereby as the diameter of the warp on the beamdecreases, the pinion will be rotated to move the lever to therebylengthen the distance between the point where the lever engages thefriction means and the point where pressure is applied thereto andthereby varying the amount of pressure applied to the friction means indirect proportion to the radius of the mass of warp threads on the warpbeam.

7. In mechanism for maintaining a constant tension on a web extendingfrom a web roll wound on a beam, friction means on one end of the beam,other friction means frictionally engaging the first friction means,means for applying pressure to the second friction means to move thesecond friction means against the first friction means, comprising amember engaging the web on the beam, a slidably mounted lever having apressureapplying means engaging an intermediate portion thereof, one endof the lever being slidably and operatively connected to the secondfriction means, an operative connec tion between the other end of thelever and the member engaging the web, the operative connection betweenthe member engaging the web friction means engaging one end 'of thebeam,

- and having a sliding engagement with one end and the lever serving tomove the lever in proportion to the increase or decrease of size of theweb roll to thereby vary the distance between the point where pressureis applied to the lever and the point where the lever engages the secondfriction means to vary the amount of friction present between the twofriction means.

- 8. Apparatus for maintaining a constant 'tension' on warp threads asthey are withdrawn,

from a warp beam mounted for rotation in a suitable machine, means forapplying a constant restraint on the warp beam to resist rotationthereof under the pull of the warp threads 0 being withdrawn therefromcomprising a lever,

of the lever, means for slidably supporting the other end of the lever,means for applying force to an intermediate portion of the lever toapply force to the friction .means, a slidably mounted member having oneend in engagement with the warp on the beam and having an operativeconnection betweenlits other end and the beam.

PHILIP H. SLAUGHTER.

